Hills said quiet, tense

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2000, 17:14 GMT]
Shops and schools remained closed and there was little traffic on the main roads in Sri Lanka's tea producing Nuwara Eliya district as thousands of Tamil plantation workers went on strike. The Sri Lankan government Tuesday cancelled all leave for Police personnel in view of the situation. Meanwhile, one person was reported killed and another critically injured when the Police opened fire on a group of Tamils in Boralanda town in the Haputale area Monday evening and arrested eighteen of them.
Full story >>

Four more bodies identified

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2000, 13:32 GMT]
The bodies of four detainees killed in the Bandarawela massacre were identified Tuesday morning at Colombo National Hospital. They were named as Kokulamani Sajeewan of Kallady, Batticaloa, Perinpanayagam Nimlaraj of Batticaloa, Somasuntharam Sellarasa and Sivan Kubendran of Arayampathi. All bodies were found to be in a highly decomposed state, hospital sources said.
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Trouble flares at Batticaloa protest

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2000, 13:30 GMT]
There were clashes with Sri Lankan security forces Tuesday as undergraduates, lecturers and non-academic staff of the East University went on a picketing campaign blocking all traffic between Batticaloa and Valaichchenai main road condemning the massacre of Tamil detainees at Bandarawela-Bindunuwewa rehabilitation center on October 25 and demanding the immediate release of Mr.P.Chandrasekaram Parliamentarian and the Leader of the Upcountry People's Front who is now in police custody in Colombo.
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US Congressmen condemn prison massacre

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 October 2000, 01:44 GMT]
Congressmen Benjamin Gilman, Sherrod Brown and Brad Shermen, in a letter addressed to the Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, urged her to "register her concern with the Government of Sri Lanka regarding the brutal murder of 24 Tamil prisoners" and "to support an independent and international inquiry." They further asked the Secretary to "urge the Sri Lankan Government to release all Tamil prisoners who are being held in custody without being charged with a crime."
Full story >>

Mob attacks continue in Nuwara Eliya

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2000, 16:19 GMT]
An second, 24 hour curfew was declared in several towns in the Nuwara Eliya district, about 100 km. east of Colombo, as communal violence against the Tamils continued for a second day. Sinhalese thugs set fire to twenty shops belonging to Tamils in Ginigathhena Monday afternoon, and fourteen people were injured in the riots, said sources.
Full story >>

Police shelling kills one

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2000, 16:16 GMT]
A civilian was killed and ten houses were damaged when police fired shells towards Karuwankerny, a hamlet in Valaichenai, 32 km. north of Batticaloa, Sunday night, said sources.
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Police arrests Chandrasekaran, MP

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2000, 06:16 GMT]
Mr.Periyasamy Chandrasekaran, Leader of the Upcountry People's Front and a Member of Parliament for the Nuwara Eeliya district was arrested under the Emergency Regulations around 1.30 a.m. Monday. He was arrested at his home.
Full story >>

Four killed in communal violence

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 October 2000, 04:57 GMT]
Communal violence continued late Sunday in the hill town of Talawakele despite enforcement of curfew in several areas in the Nuwara Eliya district, Mr.Chandrasekaran, MP, said.
Full story >>

International participation urged in massacre investigation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2000, 19:05 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has appealed to the President of Sri Lanka to hold an impartial criminal investigative process inclusive of neutral international investigators into the crimes committed at Binudunuwewa rehabilitation centre, Bandarawela. The Secretary General of the TULF, Mr.R.Sampanthan in a letter to the President has requested her to ensure protection to the surviving detainees who would be prime witnesses to the investigation.
Full story >>

Mobs attack protesters, burn down shops

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2000, 12:42 GMT]
Riots broke out in the hill town of Talawakele, about 25 km. south-west of Nuwara Eliya as Sinhalese mobs attacked people protesting over the massacre of Tamil detainees at the Bindunuwewa detention centre last Wednesday. Two Tamils were killed and several others were wounded when police opened fire, said Mr. P.Chandrasekaran MP. The leader of the Upcountry People's Front also told TamilNet that the mobs later went on a rampage in the town, setting fire to several Tamil-owned shops.
Full story >>

Fighting reported in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Sunday, 29 October 2000, 10:44 GMT]
Fighting erupted Sunday between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lanka army in the Thenmaradchi sector on the Jaffna peninsula as government troops launched a limited operation to advance towards Madduvil.
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Funerals held for massacre victims

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2000, 14:17 GMT]
Large crowds attended funerals conducted in eastern Batticaloa around 4 p.m. Saturday for five of the victims killed during an attack on Bindunuwewa detention centre sources said. The remaining 8 bodies were transported to their native towns of Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Jaffna by helicopters Friday.
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Shell kills mother

[TamilNet, Saturday, 28 October 2000, 14:16 GMT]
A young mother who was breast-feeding her 9 month old baby was killed when a mortar-bomb hit her house at Kaluwanchikudi, about 25 km. south of Batticaloa around 7.30 p.m. Friday. The baby and its father, Sabesan were wounded in the incident.
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Massacre victims' bodies taken to North-East

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 20:09 GMT]
Thirteen bodies of victims of Bindunuwewa detention centre massacre were transported to their native places in North-East provinces by helicopters Friday evening. Police sources said identification of the remaining bodies are delayed as they were either mutilated or charred beyond recognition by the fire at the Centre.
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Amnesty calls for "full investigation"

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 19:57 GMT]
Wednesday's gruesome killing of at least 26 Tamil young men and boys aged between 14 and 23 who were detained for "rehabilitation" near Bandarawela, Sri Lanka, should be investigated fully, Amnesty International said Friday in an open letter to the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga.
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Hartal to protest journalist's slaying

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 19:56 GMT]
A hartal was observed on Friday in Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Vavuniya to protest against the killing of Jaffna based journalist Mylvaganam Nimalanathan allegedly by pro-government militiamen. Shops and schools were closed and few reported for work in government offices, sources said.
Full story >>

Amnesty concerned over new "disappearances"

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 16:44 GMT]
The Amnesty International Thursday issued a statement expressing its concern for safety of two Tamil youths who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Army soldiers earlier this month in Vavuniya.
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Trinco hartal over massacre

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 08:29 GMT]
A hartal is being observed in the eastern town of Trincomalee Friday, condemning the massacre Wednesday of Tamil detainees at Bindunuwewa detention centre and the slaying last week of Jaffna based reporter Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, allegedly by pro-government militiamen.
Full story >>

Police name massacre victims

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 October 2000, 06:20 GMT]
Sri Lankan police has released names of 13 Tamil detainees massacred at the Bindunuwewa detention center in Bandarawela on Wednesday. The police said many bodies are charred beyond recognition by the fire at the Centre.
Full story >>

Tigers blame government for massacre

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2000, 22:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers Thursday blamed the Sri Lankan government for the massacre Wednesday of dozens of Tamil youths at a detention centre at Bandarawella by rampaging Sinhala villagers. In a statement from their London offices, the Tigers said they had evidence Sri Lankan security forces were "involved in organising, mobilising and instigating," the mob which attacked the centre. Those held at Bandarawella were neither members of the LTTE or child soldiers as the government had reported, but innocent civilians, the Tigers said. "The government of Sri Lanka should bear total responsibility for the serious consequences that might arise from continuing such genocidal assaults on innocent Tamil detainees," the statement said.
Full story >>

Govt. officials involved in massacre -TULF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2000, 14:23 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Thursday alleged that the authorities at the Bindunuwewa detention center were involved in the massacre on Wednesday in which at least 29 Tamil inmates were brutally killed. A statement issued by Mr.R.Sampanthan, Secretary General of the party said "the manner in which the attack has been carried out is clearly suggestive of collaboration between officials at the camp and persons outside the camp who have planned and prepared to carry out the attack."
Full story >>

Several said missing after massacre

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 October 2000, 00:36 GMT]
(News Feature) Four more Tamil detainees who were seriously wounded in Wednesday's massacre at the Bindunuwewa detention centre have succumbed to their injuries bringing the death toll to twenty-nine, Joseph Pararajasingham, an MP for the Batticaloa district said. Twenty Tamil detainees amongst those held at the detention centre remained unaccounted for Wednesday night, sources said.
Full story >>

Journalists protest colleague's slaying

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 October 2000, 14:37 GMT]
Over six hundred Sri Lankan journalists protested Wednesday against the brutal slaying of Jaffna based reporter Mylvaganam Nimalarajan allegedly by pro-government militiamen. The picket, conducted by the Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance and other media institutions in Colombo took place opposite Fort Railway Station for about one and a half hours commencing from 12 noon. Meanwhile, other correspondents say they have been threatened in the wake of the killing.
Full story >>

25 killed in detention centre massacre

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 October 2000, 08:46 GMT]
Twenty-five Tamil detainees were massacred and sixteen others were seriously wounded Wednesday when hundreds of villagers attacked the Bindunuwewa detention centre, in the Bandarawela district, about 65 km. south of Kandy, police said.
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10000 more required to fight war - Lt.Gen.Balagalle

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2000, 16:54 GMT]
"We need at least ten thousand extra troops to continue the war against the Liberation Tigers at this rate" said Sri Lanka army commander Lt.Gen. Lionel Balagalle Monday addressing a press conference at the army headquarters in Colombo. An island-wide recruitment drive for the army will begin from Wednesday 25 October and will continue for a month according to the commander.
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Massive assault on Trincomalee Harbour -LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2000, 16:38 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Monday that two Sri Lankan naval vessels were destroyed and two passenger ships were badly damaged in a massive assault on the eastern Trincomalee harbour today. They also said that a Russian built MI24 helicopter gunship, which came to assist the ground troops near Marble Beach, was brought down by an anti-aircraft missile.
Full story >>

ICRC transfers 15 LTTE bodies

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2000, 15:57 GMT]
The Sri Lanka army Monday handed over to the ICRC 15 bodies of the Liberation Tigers killed in the fighting in Nagar Kovil this week. The ICRC took the bodies in fishing boats from the Gurunagar jetty to the Kalmunai Point in the Jaffna lagoon around 4 p.m. where they were handed over to the LTTE.
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Mi24 shot down, fighting on Marble Beach

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2000, 05:45 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers shot down a Mi-24 helicopter gunship that flew into support Sri Lanka army troops and the Navy which attempted to encircle and engage them Monday morning near the Marble beach 16 kilometers southwest of Trincomalee, security sources said.
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Tigers destroy gunboat in Trincomalee SLN Yard

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 October 2000, 02:25 GMT]
A gunboat and a troop carrier were destroyed in a major attack by the Liberation Tigers in the Naval Yard in the Trincomalee harbour Monday morning around 5.45 a.m. At least 25 Sri Lanka Navy personnel were wounded and 2 were killed in the attack initial reports said.
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Fighting starts again for Nagar Kovil MSR

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 October 2000, 11:05 GMT]
Fighting erupted again Sunday on Jaffna's southeastern cost after a brief lull as the Liberation Tigers launched a fresh attack from this morning to recapture a small segment of the Main Supply Route to the Sri Lanka army's Nagar Kovil detachment. The SLA Saturday retook some of its positions ahead of the detachment which the Liberation Tigers overran on 19 October.
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Thousands mourn slain Jaffna journalist

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 October 2000, 14:09 GMT]
More than four thousand mourners took part in the funeral of the slain Tamil journalist Nimalrajan Saturday as he was laid to rest in the cemetery of the church of Konjanji Maatha this afternoon in Jaffna town around 3.30 p.m. Posters condemning his killing came up in many parts the peninsula. Black flags were also flown in the town. Meanwhile, in Colombo, the opposition Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) charged that the EPDP was behind the Nimalrajan's killing.
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Fighting continues for key Nagar Kovil sectors

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2000, 16:06 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army sources in Jaffna said that troops in Nagar Kovil are still trying to push back Liberation Tiger units that had broken through this coastal detachment's forward defence localities between the village market and the Koriyadi point on the southern side of the beach here. The main supply route to Nagar Kovil that branches off from the coastal road from Pt.Pedro to Aaliyavalai has been interdicted by the Tigers.
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Jaffna journalist killed for his reporting

[TamilNet, Friday, 20 October 2000, 06:43 GMT]
The killing of senior Jaffna journalist, Mylvaganam Nimalrajan, 38 Thursday night by gunmen suspected to be members of a pro-government Tamil group, was widely condemned by Tamil media organisations and political parties. Mr.Nimalrajan, fearlessly reported the intimidation, thuggery and election malpractice during the October 10 elections in Jaffna to the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Full story >>

Senior Jaffna journalist shot dead

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2000, 18:21 GMT]
Senior Jaffna journalist, Mylvaganam Nimalrajan, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Sri Lanka Army's high security zone in Jaffna town Thursday night around 10 p.m.. His father Sangarapillai Mylvaganam, 65, his mother, Lilly Mylvaganam, 62, and his nephew, Jegathas Prasanna, 11, were seriously wounded by a grenade lobbed by the gunmen.
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Nagarkovil FDLs destroyed -LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2000, 15:24 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers said Thursday that they had overrun Sri Lanka Army forward defence lines protecting the key base at Nakarkovil in the heavy fighting which broke out this morning. They also said they shot down a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter gunship and damaged another.
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SLAF helicopter shot down

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2000, 13:54 GMT]
Fighting broke out in Nakar Kovil on the south-eastern coast of Jaffna Thursday evening. Sri Lanka Army sources in the northern town said a MI-24 helicopter gunship was shot down around 5.30 p.m.
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SLA disarms TELO "in revenge"

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2000, 13:29 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army troops Thursday raided the camps of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) in Mannar town and Vavuniya around 4 p.m. and seized more than 90 assault rifles from them. Prasanna, a TELO leader in Colombo, told TamilNet that the government is taking revenge on his organisation "for refusing to compromise the national interests of the Tamil people".
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SLMC, EPDP get plum portfolios

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2000, 06:29 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President Thursday cemented her party's coalition government by offering plum portfolios to her minority allies. The leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party, Mr. Douglas Devananda, was sworn in as the Minister for Northern Rehabilitation and Northeastern Tamil Affairs Thursday and co-leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim was given the plum portfolio of Internal, External Trade, Shipping and Muslim Affairs. Northeastern Tamil affairs is a new portfolio in the cabinet.
Full story >>

Bomb explodes in Colombo

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 October 2000, 04:50 GMT]
Twenty three persons, including three American women and three Policemen, were wounded in a suicide bomb explosion near the Viharamaha Devi Park in Colombo around 10.10 a.m Thursday morning police said.
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Ex-SLA spokesman elected deputy speaker

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2000, 11:41 GMT]
Members of the Sri Lanka cabinet will take their oaths at 9.a.m Thursday at the Presidential secretariat in Colombo. The portfolios, however, are yet to be announced. Mr. Anura Bandaranaike's name was proposed by Prime Minister Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka and was seconded by opposition leader Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe when the new Parliament met Wednesday. Former Sri Lanka Army spokesman Maj.Gen.(ret) Sarath Munasingha was elected the deputy speaker of the house.
Full story >>

Tigers overwhelm satellite camp

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 October 2000, 05:02 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers attacked and broke through a section of the Forward defence Lines of the Sri Lanka army ahead of the Mannar-Vavuniya highway about 30 kilometers west of Vavuniya town, overwhelming a satellite camp in that sector in the early hours of the morning Wednesday.
Full story >>

Parliament to meet sans cabinet, Anura speaker

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2000, 17:12 GMT]
Sri Lanka's eleventh Parliament will meet Wednesday sans a cabinet of ministers as President Chandrika Kumaratunga continues to negotiate with senior PA politicians and coalition partners who are tussling and bargaining for plum portfolios in the new government. Meanwhile, the PA and United National Party said that a consensus was possible on electing Mr.Anura Bandaranaike, the President's brother who is an opposition MP, as the speaker of the eleventh Parliament Wednesday.
Full story >>

Re-deployed deserter shoots himself

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2000, 17:08 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army deserter who was arrested and sent to the front in Jaffna shot and killed himself Monday Police told a judge in the northern town Tuesday. The soldier, identified as H.P.S Mathusampa, was arrested in Colombo during a search operation for deserters in the city and had been posted two days ago to the Forward Defence Line in Irupaalai in the Kopay sector, north-east of Jaffna.
Full story >>

SLMC split over backing PA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2000, 12:56 GMT]
Differences between the co-leaders of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Mrs.Ferial Ashraff and Mr.Rauf Hakeem, that had been brewing this week over the nature of the party's support to the People's Alliance spilled, into the open Tuesday as the majority of the party's MPs said they backed the former's decision to join the government.
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Police shoot inside eastcoast Mosque

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2000, 16:08 GMT]
Schools, shops and government offices were partly shut down Monday in the eastern Muslim town of Akkaraipattu, 64 kilometers south of Batticaloa on the southeastern coast of the island, in protest over Sri Lankan Police shooting and wounding five people in the town's main Mosque Saturday midnight. Police in Akkaraipattu claimed that a large crowd that gathered at the town Mosque in response to a special late night muezzin call had attacked a Police patrol, wounding some constables. Police arrested twenty eight persons, including the editor of a news paper, accused of taking part in the attack.
Full story >>

Sinhala nationalists squabble and split

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 October 2000, 13:15 GMT]
Sihala Urumaya, the hardline Sinhala Buddhist nationalist party, split Monday over who should represent it in the Sri Lankan Parliament. The President of the party Mr.S.L.Gunasekera told a press conference in Colombo Monday that he and seven members of the Sihala Urumaya's central committee had walked out in protest Sunday from a meeting that had been convened to select one of its senior members as the national list MP of the party. The Sihala Urumaya got only one seat in the Parliament on account of the total number of votes it polled island wide at the general elections on October 10.
Full story >>

Ignoring Mosque writ costly in eastern towns

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2000, 19:58 GMT]
The main mosque for Oddamavadi and Valaichenai, 32 kilometers north of Batticaloa, Sunday permanently banned seven shops owned by residents of Kattankudy from doing business in the two towns.
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Jaffna SLA Civil Affairs Office to go

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2000, 17:58 GMT]
The functions of the Sri Lanka army's civil affairs office in Jaffna will be transferred to the District Secretariat, government officials in the north said. The SLA's civil affairs office was in charge of controlling the passage of civilians from Jaffna. The change was due to a political decision sources said.
Full story >>

Powerful cabinet portfolio offered -EPDP

[TamilNet, Sunday, 15 October 2000, 12:50 GMT]
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) said that the Sri Lankan government has offered it a powerful cabinet portfolio and some deputy ministries in the new government. EPDP sources in Jaffna said that the party has sought a ministry that would give them power over development, rehabilitation and other key affairs of the north and east.
Full story >>

SLMC gets bargain, internecine clash in east

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2000, 12:50 GMT]
The Police announced and unofficial curfew in the Muslim town of Oddamavadi,35 kilometres north of Batticaloa, from 8 p.m. Saturday and called in the army to keep the peace following a rampage by supporters of National Unity Alliance (NUA) MP, Mohideen Abdul Carder, against persons who had worked for Mr.M.L.A.M Hisbullah, former Deputy Minister for Posts and a senior leader of the SLMC. (NUA is the multi-ethnic front of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress) Meanwhile, in Colombo, the 'co-leader' of the SLMC, Rauf Hakeem, said that his party will have two cabinet portfolios and four deputy ministries in the new government.
Full story >>

Crowds stone soldiers in temple fracas

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 October 2000, 09:22 GMT]
The annual festival of the Vallipuram Aalvaar temple in Jaffna was disrupted Friday evening when crowds of devotees who were angered by the Sri Lanka Army's refusal to allow them to the beach for the water cutting ceremony ('Theertham') stoned soldiers and a state radio van. The TamilNet's Vadamaradchi correspondent said that three SLA soldiers were wounded by stones hurled at them by the crowd.
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Wickramanayaka PM, UNP to sit in opposition

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2000, 08:41 GMT]
People's Alliance sources said that the Mr.Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka will be sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka at three p.m. Friday. They said that the PA is confident of obtaining the support of the majority of MPs in Parliament to form the government. Meanwhile, the leader of the United National Party Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe told a press conference in Colombo Friday noon that his party would sit in the opposition.
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Police detain Gen.Ratwatte's son over shooting

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 October 2000, 08:39 GMT]
Lohan Ratwatte, the son of former Deputy Minister for Defence, General Anuruddha Ratwatte was taken into custody Friday morning by the Police in Kandy and was brought to Colombo for interrogation over his alleged involvement in election violence and shooting. Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress said that it will urge the government to take strong action against PA politicians who indulged in rigging and violence in the Kandyelectoral district.
Full story >>

SLMC to reap numbers game advantage

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2000, 13:09 GMT]
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress that won nine seats (five on PA list) to emerge Thursday as the key player in the numbers game to form a coalition government in Sri Lanka said it will not join the PA unconditionally. A party spokesman in the Ampara district told TamilNet that the PA should honour the conditions on which the SLMC supported the government in the elections to the Parliament. Meanwhile, Mr. A.L.M Yaseen, the SLMC's Ampara district secretary said his party would iterate the position of its late leader regarding PA strong man A.H.M Fowzie.
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Final results of polls released

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2000, 10:23 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Commissioner of Elections Wednesday officially announced the results of the elections to Parliament following the delay in the counting of votes in the Kandy district where widespread rigging was reported.
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Constitution limits bargaining chip for UNP

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 October 2000, 09:19 GMT]
The People's Alliance and the United National Party continued to negotiate Wednesday with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Eelam People's Democratic Party to muster the majority required in the Sri Lankan Parliament to form the government. However, it is unlikely that the UNP will be able to rope in enough MPs to forge a coalition because of the limitations it may face under the Sri Lankan constitution in granting important cabinet portfolios to potential allies. The decisive negotiations Wednesday are centred on cabinet portfolios.
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SLMC crucial for PA forming government

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2000, 17:00 GMT]
The People's Alliance and its minority allies, the Eelam People's Democratic Front and the National Unity Alliance, together have obtained enough seats to form the government in Sri Lanka. However, the decision of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will be crucial for the PA in forming the government this week. Six SLMC candidates, four who contested on the PA list and two on the NUA list, have been elected.
Full story >>

Pararajasingham elected on final count

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2000, 16:49 GMT]
Mr.Joseph Pararajasingham was re-elected member of Parliament on the final count of personal preference votes obtained by candidates of his party which won two seats in Batticaloa. Mr. Nimalan Soundaranayagam obtained the largest number of personal preference votes among the TULF candidates who contested the elections in Batticaloa. The TULF lost Mr.Pararajasingham's electorate by coming third after the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress front, the National Unity Alliance, and the United National Party.
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EPDP gets four seats in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2000, 12:26 GMT]
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) won the majority of the seats in Jaffna said election officials in the north Wednesday afternoon. The pro-government Tamil group secured four seats with 41,671 votes amidst allegations of rigging. The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) got three seats. The United National Party (UNP) won a seat in Jaffna after 48 years. The All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) secured one seat. There are nine Parliamentary seats in the electoral district of Jaffna.
Full story >>

Police curfew in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2000, 08:41 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police declared curfew in the Muslim towns of Kattankudy, Eravur and Ottamavadi and in the Batticaloa town Wednesday following clashes between supporters and members of the National Unity Alliance (NUA) and the United National Party.
Full story >>

TULF loses in Trincomalee, Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 11 October 2000, 08:36 GMT]
Tamils in Trincomalee lost representation in the Sri Lankan parliament for the first time since the island became independent in 1948. Despite decades of state backed Sinhala colonization aimed at altering the demographic complexion of this east coast district, Tamils still form the majority at 36.4 percent of the population. Nevertheless, no Tamil was elected to Parliament in this election.
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TULF, PLOTE claim massive election fraud

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 18:23 GMT]
"More than ninety thousand votes of the total of about two hundred thousand votes said to have been polled today in Jaffna were rigged" said the leader of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) Mr.Dharmalingam Sidarthan, the chief candidate of the ex-Tamil militant group contesting the elections to the Sri Lankan Parliament. Mr.Sidarthan told TamilNet Tuesday evening that he has requested the Commissioner of Elections not to declare the results of the Kayts and Kankesanthurai polling divisions in Jaffna because of the massive rigging.
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Cancel violence marred polls says watchdog

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 13:24 GMT]
The independent polls watch dog, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) called on the Commissioner of Elections as voting drew to a close Tuesday afternoon to cancel the polls in eleven polling divisions where it said the "nature and extent of violence were so widespread and serious as to render the final outcome in these areas meaningless".
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NUA rigs, clashes with UNP in east

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 12:39 GMT]
At least fourteen people were wounded and three vehicles smashed up in clashes between the National Unity Alliance (NUA), the multi-ethnic front of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and the United National Party (UNP) Tuesday in the Muslim towns of Kattankudy and Eravur in Batticaloa.
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PA accused of rigging, thuggery in hills

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 09:23 GMT]
Independent polls observers reported widespread rigging by thugs and armed persons working for two powerful People's Alliance (PA) politicians in several parts of central province Tuesday morning. The United National Party charged that armed PA groups had blocked its polling agents from reaching their polling centres in Hanguranketha in the electoral district of Nuwara Eliya.
Full story >>

EPDP abducts UNP polling agents

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 06:29 GMT]
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), the chief Tamil ally of the People's Alliance, abducted 19 polling agents of the United National Party (UNP) at Kayts in Jaffna while they were on their way to polling booths in the island.
Full story >>

Sirimavo Bandaranaike dies

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 06:20 GMT]
World's first elected woman prime minister Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike,84 died Tuesday morning around 10.30 a.m. while she was returning to Colombo after casting her vote at her home constituency of Attanagalle.
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Rigging reported amidst shelling

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 October 2000, 04:26 GMT]
Residents from the Jaffna town suburbs of Madathady, Paashaiyoor and Gurunagar began leaving their homes towards safer areas as the artillery duels between the Sri Lanka army and the Liberation Tigers that began in the early hours of the morning Tuesday intensified. The Liberation Tigers control the eastern and southeastern outskirts of the Jaffna town. Meanwhile, residents said that Tamil groups working with the Sri Lanka army are issuing illegally acquired polling cards to their supporters for voter impersonation.
Full story >>

Rigging feared in Jaffna 'cluster booths'

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2000, 21:39 GMT]
Jaffna goes to polls tomorrow amidst fears of widespread rigging. Officials at the Jaffna district secretariat said that voter turn out is expected to be low mainly due to the fighting between the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan army in the southern sector of the peninsula.
Full story >>

No franchise for Mullaithivu Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2000, 21:10 GMT]
None of the Tamil voters in the Mullaithivu district will be able to vote in elections to Sri Lanka's eleventh Parliament Tuesday 10 October. They have been precluded from the polls due to a decision by the Sri Lankan government not to have any polling booths in the district except one for 996 Sinhalese in Ibbanweva, a state backed settlement in the southern corner of Mullaithivu. "This is tantamount to denying them the exercise of their sovereignty as Sri Lankan citizens through the franchise or, in real terms, disfranchising them" said a political analyst in Colombo Monday asked to comment on the Mullaithivu situation.
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Clash in Trincomalee sea

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2000, 16:04 GMT]
Clashes were reported between the Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka Navy Sunday evening in the seas of Navalady in Mutur south of Trincomalee, security sources said. Fighting erupted around 5.30 p.m. and went on for nearly two hours.
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NUA Batticaloa list challenge dismissed

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2000, 15:44 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Court of Appeal Monday dismissed an application challenging the National Unity Alliance (NUA) nomination for the Batticaloa district. The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) candidate, Mr.N.Indrakumar, filed a writ application requesting the court to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the Commissioner of Elections and the Returning Officer to reject the nomination paper of the NUA. Justice Asoka de Silva made this order upholding the preliminary objections raised by the counsel for the respondents.
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Protest shuts down Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 October 2000, 13:25 GMT]
Shops, schools and government offices were closed and streets were almost deserted in Batticaloa town Monday in response to a call by a student organisation protesting against the activities of anti-Tamil forces and opportunists.
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Election reported incidents rise

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2000, 05:34 GMT]
Number of election related incidents reported at the Police Election Secretariat from August 28, the date nomination papers were filed, to October 6 stands at 1229, sources said.
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LTTE names fighters killed in action

[TamilNet, Sunday, 08 October 2000, 05:32 GMT]
Liberation Tigers and Sri Lanka Army soldiers continued to exchange heavy artillery and mortar fire in Nagar Kovil, Vadamaradchi East and in Thenmaradchi sector, said sources in Jaffna.
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Parties windup election campaign

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2000, 12:44 GMT]
Political parties and independent groups contesting parliamentary elections will end their campaigning Saturday midnight, 48 hours prior to election date as stipulated in the parliamentary election Act. Meanwhile the police has stepped security measures in Colombo and its suburb as major political parties are holding their final rallies in the capital.
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Tigers probe Nagar Kovil FDLs

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2000, 18:49 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers on Thursday launched an attack on the forward defence lines (FDLs) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp at Nagar Kovil, the Voice of Tigers radio said Friday. Army sources in Colombo said 8 soldiers, including an officer were killed and 32 were wounded in the attack.
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Don't vote PA or UNP in Ampara - TULF

[TamilNet, Friday, 06 October 2000, 18:45 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has appealed to the Tamil voters of the Digamadulla (Ampara) electoral district not to cast their votes to the People's Alliance (PA) or the United National Party (UNP) at the forthcoming general election.
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Impartial inquiry into civilian massacre - TULF

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2000, 19:05 GMT]
The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has appealed to the Defense Secretary to hold an impartial inquiry into the killings of seven Tamil civilians, including a woman at Poonagar in the Ichchilampathai division of the Muttur area, south of Trincomalee, on Monday.
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Bomb explodes at PA rally

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2000, 13:46 GMT]
At least twelve people, including a police officer were killed and 44 others were wounded in a bomb blast at an election meeting of Sri Lanka's ruling People's Alliance in Medawachchiya town, about 25 km. north-east of Anuradhapura in the North Central province, around 5.45 p.m. Thursday, police said.
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Grenade attacks in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2000, 09:23 GMT]
Three members of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), a pro-government ex-militant group were seriously wounded in a grenade attack in Jaffna. The attack took place between Nachchimarakoviladi and Poonarimarathady on the Jaffna-Kankesanthurai road, about 4 km. off north of Jaffna town around 12.30 p.m. Thursday.
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Two Policemen killed

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 October 2000, 09:19 GMT]
Two military trained policemen were killed and five wounded when the Liberation Tigers attacked the police station at Central Camp, about thirty kilometers south-west of Batticaloa, around 7.30 p.m. Wednesday, security sources said.
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Civilians massacre in Trinco

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2000, 16:26 GMT]
Reports are emerging from Eastern Trincomalee about a massacre of seven Tamil civilians, including a woman by members of Home Guards, a militia group operating with the Sri Lankan security forces, at Poomaraththadichenai, a remote hamlet in Mutur, on Monday evening.
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UNP to probe Ashraff death

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2000, 16:24 GMT]
The Leader of the United National Party Ranil Wickremasinghe has said that he would appoint a commission to probe the mysterious death in a helicopter crash last month of Mr.M.H.M.Ashraff, founder president of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, if he is elected to power.
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Palali flights suspended

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2000, 15:38 GMT]
Flights to and from the airstrip in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) base complex at Palaly in the northern Jaffna peninsula have been suspended, residents said Wednesday. The airport’s closure has been prompted by shelling by the Liberation Tigers, they quoted SLA officials as saying.
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Two paramilitaries killed

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 04 October 2000, 15:32 GMT]
Two members of the Razeek Group, a paramilitray group operating as National Guard Battalion of the Sri Lanka Army were shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday afternoon around 3.45 at Paddiruppu junction, about 30 km south off Batticaloa town.
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Demonstrators attack TULF office

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2000, 15:04 GMT]
A group of persons said to have been members of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) Tuesday afternoon staged a one hour demonstration in front of the Jaffna office of the Tamil United Liberation Front, from 12.30 pm.
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Ambush kills 2, injures another

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 03 October 2000, 05:41 GMT]
Two people were killed and another wounded when Sri Lanka Army troops lying in ambush opened fire at Kalmadu in Valaichenai, 30 km. north of Batticaloa around 9.45 p.m. Monday night.
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Artillery duels in Thenmaradchi

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2000, 14:59 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers have stepped up artillery and mortar attacks on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps in Varani in the Thenmaradchi sector and Nagar Kovil in the Vadamaradchi East, since Sunday night, said sources. SLA troops at Kudathanai, north of Nakarkovil were retaliating by firing shells towards LTTE held areas, the sources added.
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Dozens killed in blasts

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2000, 13:54 GMT]
At least 20 people including a candidate of the ruling People's Alliance (PA) for the Trincomalee electorate were killed Monday at 6.30 p.m. in a bomb blast at an election meeting at the Cultural Centre of Mutur, Police said. Forty-five people, including 7 policemen were wounded. The candidate Mohammed Lathif Faithullah was the Officer in Charge of the Police Intelligent service in Trincomalee district, said sources.
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Furore over peace talks letters

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 October 2000, 00:35 GMT]
(News Feature) The letters exchanged between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers during the 1995 peace talks have become an unexpected election issue in the run up to the island's forthcoming Parliamentary polls. The main opposition, the United National Party (UNP), has seized on the hitherto unpublicised letters as evidence the government had not informed the Sri Lankan public about its negotiations with the Tigers, forcing the government to respond with a counter-campaign.
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Court frees PTA detainee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2000, 14:26 GMT]
The Vavuniya High Court Friday acquitted Ramachandran Yogarasa,24, indicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), stating that the defence had proved that the confession from the accused had been obtained under duress.
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PA extended conditional support

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2000, 14:24 GMT]
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) would extend only conditional support to the People's Alliance (PA) after the general election, said Rauff Hakeem, the Co-leader of SLMC at a reception accorded to him at Nintavur in Ampara district on Friday night.
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Boy bathing, shot dead

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2000, 13:31 GMT]
Kunalingam Kugathasan, 14, was shot dead by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers Saturday afternoon while bathing in a lagoon in Navalady, about 4 km east of Batticaloa town, said sources. The body was handed over to his parents after an inquest held at the Batticaloa hospital.
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Skirmish in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 October 2000, 08:32 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was killed and at least five others wounded in an attack by the Liberation Tigers near vavunathivu SLA camp about 5 km. west of Batticaloa town around 8.30 a.m. Sunday said sources.
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